Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-06-03

latlve union with England has fallen like
blight on every element of Irish pros
perty. There is nothing left but the
land. But the best and fairest of it is re-
served for the domain, the pasture the
park, the hunting ground of the landlord.
The real lrishman, the child Of the soil
has for his portion the bog, the morass
the barren hillside. Hence the so-called
congested districts where the starving
tenants are huddled together on worth
less strips Of land. In Ireland there are
$1,000 farmers of less than five acres, and
| 100000 Of from to Is, of which, in many
cases, only two and two and a nalf acres
are arabic. The land has been spaded
over and planted to potatoes until it yields
only 80 cwt, instead of from six to nine
tons. The straits to which the Irish ten
ant is reduced in trying to live and pay
the rent are apparent. 1t is often impossf-
BILE to do both. But rather than fail to do
the latter he has lived for centuries on the
verge OF starvation. Whereas if he ap-
piled to the maintenance of life what he
sells at sacrifice in the English market,
in order to meet the rent, he might fire.
Quently live in abundance. The island is
not over-populated it falls below the
European average density The island
produces food far in excess of the needs
of its people. In 1882 when crops were
! generally bad, five of the principal food
crops produced seven pounds weight a day
for every man woman and child in the
island. And yet we have the ever recur-
ring famine whenever the potato crop
| fails, because the pttance, wrupg from
the overtaxed soil, has to 90 to the Eng
lsh market to be undersold by American
| product for the people must pay the rent
or starve. OF what use then are the land
acts. and the arrear acts, and the land
purchase acts, and the land commissions
and lawsuits ? In spite of all these, it is
the old story-starvation, eviction and
death From 1875 to 1879, while Ireland
| w hat for
10000 evictions in that unhappy country
But behold, when the Irish cry out for
deliverance from these evils they are
soundly berated for their ingratitude in
not hailng the half-hearted concessions
of British rule as full redress of their
| grievances, and we are told, fors Doth,
that the English masters justly consider
the Irish as unreasonable and rebellous
And because, of 10000 complaints, only
| 60 convictions are made. we are to infer
that crime is rampant in Ireland and must
be'put down by coercion. 1t is easy to
grasp the Significance of 10 600 complaints
in country where 100000 of people are
contending against an army of landlords
backed up by 10000 soldiers and 10000
constables. England" says Gladstone,
needs coercion more than Ireland, for
relatively to the population she has more
crimes than Ireland. Taking all crimes
into account, on an average, one in every
336 of the male population of England
and Wales is yearly guilty of a criminal
offense, and in the female population, one
in every 1881. In 1880 the total criminal
population of England and Wales was
69,372." have at hand statistics that
show that in 1879 there was three times as
much crime in England and Wales as
there was in Ireland in 1886.
| The Irish question may be thus briefly
and truthfully stated; The land has
been wrested from the people by plumber,
and given to their enemies whose title no
lapse of time can validity establish Every
element of national vitality has been crush
ed out by foreign legislation and the
people have been left at the mercy Of the
landlords. importuned by the demands
OF the people, and smarting under the
condemnation of the civilized world, the
| English government has made some scan
| ty instruments, not of privileges, but of
long delayed justice. But this fragment
! airy legislation is incomplete and neffect-
ual. Without her Industries, which perish
ell since the union, Ireland Will always be
the chronic victim of an economic disor-
der which will compel her people to be
nation OF tenants, and to accept the land
on any terms they can get. Reduced to
such state the most favorable land laws
are nearly worthless. But industry in
Ireland can never prosper without pro-
tectlve system OF government and such
system is incompatible with legislative
union with England. Thanks to the re
distribution bill OF 1855, Ireland retains
her full parliamentary representation,
and the registration law renders the
franchise free and effective and by practi-
cally unanimous plebiscitum, Ireland asks
for self-government,a as the only and radical
cure of the evils engendered by landlord
ism and the legislative union The eng
lish government answers her by doing
out a few miserable crumbs, and then
proceeds to create by law new offenses in
order to furnish pretense to gag and op.
press, to crush and eXasperate her in the
legitimate and peaceful efforts she is
making to rise from perennial serfdom.
But Ireland has learned to suffer and to
wait God grant she may still be brave
and patient and Christian. For truth is
mighty and it shall prevail s.
Burlington, May p, 1887.